I have been writing technical articles for over 4 years to this date, and have been with CellPhoneTrek.com for over half of this time. I graduated from the University of Central Florida with a degree in Computer Science. When I first began writing in 2006, I had been working in the Cell Phone Industry for 4 years as a Technician/Tester and a Flashing Engineer for the 3 major Cell Phone Companies - Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. My background knowledge stems from my previous experience within the technical workings of these companies. I enjoy keeping up to date with the technological advances which occur in the Mobile industry so often nowadays, and I enjoy bringing my knowledge to my readers. When I couple my technical knowledge with my love for writing, I am able to report all of the front-line information that develops in the industry as soon as it arises. What I hope that my readers can take away from my articles is a new found knowledge on a technology which they didn't know was in existence, or a new understanding of something they couldn't previously comprehend. This is my career, and I love it.
11 August, 2010, 10:08 am
Cellular south has announced that today they are launching a new Android phone into their market, the new Motorola Milestone smartphone. This is the second phone that the nations largest privately held wireless company has released. Cellular south had also been one of the first companies last year to release the HTC Hero [...]
11 August, 2010, 9:21 am
It seems now LG is trying to step up their game by going almost fully android. The Company has decided that this year they want to ship 6 million smartphones, and within those 6 million LG wants 70% to be Android technology and the remaining 30% to run on Windows 7 technology. This [...]
13 July, 2010, 2:59 pm
Now that the Apply iPhone 4 has been released, apple fans everywhere are looking where to get the best Apple iPhone 4 Accessories on the market. Look no further because I have found a site where you can get the best and least expensive Apple iPhone 4 Cases and Apple iPhone 4 Covers. Where, you may be asking?
Just visit OnlyiPhone4.com, and you will find the largest selection of accessories that are all custom-fit for your new Apple iPhone 4. No matter what your intentions are - whether you want to decorate, protect, or do both to your device - now you can! Just visit OnlyiPhone4.com today!
2 July, 2010, 8:26 am
If you’re an Android user today, and you like using Yahoo, then you’re finally in luck. Keeping tabs up on your Yahoo mail and reading about your favorite movies will now be one finger tap away with the addition of a couple applications to the Android Market. Yesterday, Yahoo announced the launch of Android applications for both Yahoo Mail and Messenger - all topped with a new mobile-search widget. This app will be free from the Android Market, and is compatible with Android 2.0 and up, being optimised for the HTC Incredible, Motorola Droid, and Google Nexus One.
The Yahoo Mail app has a variety of enhancements such as being able to email contacts from your yahoo address book as well as the native Android address book. You can upload photos from your camera or photo gallery, view and download attachments, and get notifications of new messages. The Messenger app allows users to instant-message peers and send them photos via your camera or photo gallery. Notifications will even allow users to keep chatting while the program runs in the background.
IMDb has also launched an app for Android which gives users the ability to browse and search it’s gigantic database of movies and TV shows. Users can even look up times and showings of local movies and TV episodes and watch trailers. This mobile app is said to be part of their ‘IMDb Everywhere” plan which also allows users to share IMDb data online via Facebook and Twitter. [cnet]
29 June, 2010, 2:41 pm
With the release of the iPhone 4, users across the globe are searching for a great Apple iPhone 4 Accessories site that they can rely on to provide them with dependable products such as Apple iPhone 4 Cases and other various necessities. Keeping your Apple iPhone 4 safe from the everyday wear and tear that is prevalent with touchscreen phones these days is so important in preserving your device to maintain top physical condition. Protection is definitely a key factor in making your Apple iPhone 4 last as long as you want it to.
Accessories are the best way to ensure that you do the most to protect your device. Apple has done their part in giving you an amazing product that is also super-durable, so after the iPhone 4 is sold to the user, protection is then placed in the hands of he or she. While I was browsing the web, I happened across this site, and I had to tell you guys about it - any iPhone 4 owners should definitely visit OnlyiPhone4.com to find the best in protective and custom accessories available on the market.
18 June, 2010, 8:20 am
With the ever-growing popularity that has been accumulated by the Android OS, one thing that we have begun to see more and more is a tight-knit community of dedicated hackers and ROM developers who tirelessly work to unlock phones and install the newest versions of Android with a little customization on their own parts. With this hobby being more and more prevalent, there are now sites which host a myriad of variously programmed ROMS for different Android phones. This site is Shipped-Roms, and it contains a number of mods programmed by ‘Coinflipper’, a software hacker who has been gaining in popularity.
Well just recently Shipped-Roms was issued a Cease and Desist from HTC. HTC’s main beef with the site is that modders are illegally using HTC’s “original art work.” It’s an open term, and not understood whether they are speaking about the UI or the entire body of code used for the HTC devices, but HTC means business. It’s not that hard to take down a single site, but that still won’t stop hackers from modding and reusing their code.
17 June, 2010, 8:27 am
Looking for faster data speeds on your mobile device. Fret not, T-Mobile is implementing HSPA+ in 25 new cities. What they claim is that with this new technology, T-Mobile customers in range will be delivered speeds which are comparable to 4G. HSPA+ offers theoretical download speeds of up to 21mbps, with actual speeds being around 5-8Mbps with peaks of 10 Mbps.
Currently the HSPA+ being deployed on T-Mobile only works with a few devices, most of which are data sticks used in laptops. Currently Sprint Nextel is the only Major US carrier offering 4G speeds, with Verizon Wireless building it’s LTE Technology and AT&T upgrading their connection to HSPA+ as well.T-Mobile execs are also saying that the upgrade will boost speeds of all those who use 3G capable phones on the network - and that includes all Android devices.
Meanwhile, Sprint, with it’s HTC EVO 4G, is planning on adding one more 4G device later sometime this year. T-Mobile states that HSPA+ will cover 75-million potential customers, with a goal of 185-million by the end of this year.
16 June, 2010, 3:22 pm
So if you have yet to hear the news, this Saturday all T-Mobile phones are free. Don’t get too excited, they aren’t going to just be giving everyone a phone - you have to sign up for a two-year contract of course. The contract will have to be under a family plan - although it’s not very clear as to what that means if you already have a family plan… maybe a two year extension?
Of course, you’ll be charged a $35 activation fee, unless you head to Radio Shack, who will be running the same promotion, but will be waiving the $35 fee. You should expect to shell out the normal price that you would be paying for the phone at the counter, and be getting your money back via mail-in rebate, but this shouldn’t be much of a problem. So if you’re wondering what to get Dad for Father’s Day, you can enjoy having the benefits of a Family Plan as well! Just head over to the T-Mobile website to see what interesting devices that you’ll be wanting.
16 June, 2010, 9:21 am
Hey guys, I know a place to find great HTC EVO 4G Accessories. If you’re looking for a wide variety of HTC EVO 4G covers, or any other kind of accessory for the device, then you have to visit this site. The website is OnlyEVO.com. They have what is by far the best selection when [...]
14 June, 2010, 11:22 am
It is always nice to see disputing companies finally make-up and continue on with business. This time the businesses being discussed were Motorola and RIM, and the dispute was over a patent which ended with a cross-licensing deal. The companies had a previous deal which had expired at the end of 2007, and since the two were still unable to come to an agreeable extension statement, the lawyers began to be involved within their affairs once again.
So finally, this whole legal situation has been settled, and we have one less patent lawsuit to be concerned about. It was inevitable that a conclusion to this deal was reached, now Motorola can divert it’s attention back to making that 2 GHz Android device, huh?
14 June, 2010, 10:06 am
As we see the IT professional giant CISCO developing new infrastructure for communication and an application for enterprise communication between the iPhone and iPad. The application Cisco Quad is made in order to enable workers to stay connected with their co-workers, and it allows workers to retrieve automatic job information, which in turn, reduces time which employees waste in trying to find the right person for the right job.
Tony Bates is Cisco’s senior vice-president and enterprise general manager. Bates stated, “Cisco’s vision for a new work space is about empowering organizations with a broader range of collaborative experiences.”
The company is intending on providing information on Cisco Quad, and other technologies that they will be providing in the near future at the Enterprise 2.0 show starting next week in Boston.
11 June, 2010, 3:40 pm
So cool, the game Vendetta Online, a space-battle simulation MMORPG, is heading for a full port to Android. That’s right, 100% of the game developed to work on Windows, Mac, and Linux, is now heading for the Android OS (Which is really just a distro of Linux itself), and this means that gamers who play the game on PC will be able to extend their playing throughout the day, at school, at work, doesn’t sound too productive - but it is still awesome!
The game is expected to work on Wi-Fi and 3G networks, but in the case of a large space-battle you may find that network resources drain fairly quickly. It is recommended that players invest in an unlimited data-plan, as not to break their data limits. We’ll keep you posted on any updates about Vendetta Online, as well as all other Cell Phone News that crosses out paths here at CellPhoneTrek.com.
11 June, 2010, 8:16 am
We’ve made incredible progress in the technology sector, let alone the mobile device industry, with smart phones that are more powerful than some of the desktops that we used at home 10-years ago. It is only logical to realize that mobile devices are going to continue their ascent into greatness for as long as we use them, and Motorola is taking quite a leap in the industry to ensure progression.
Sanjay Jha, the CEO of Motorola, stated a couple days previous that his company was working on a 2-GHz Android-based phone, processing speeds which are double the fastest devices on the market currently. While Jha did not give any other details to the device, another executive stated that it will have a wide range of high-end features.
In his speech, Jha clearly stated that Motorola would be releasing this device by the end of 2010, but did not hint as to which carriers will be offering the device. We’ll keep you posted on any updates.
10 June, 2010, 2:00 pm
With the emergence of front-facing cameras, it’s only a matter of time before companies start coming out with innovative uses of the new technology. EyeSight Mobile Technologies is doing just that. The company is developing a software which uses the camera as a way of interfacing with the device.
For instance, the endless possibilities of using hand gestures to swipe to the next photo in your gallery, or play games on your mobile device, or even navigate a GPS map, are all there for the taking. The company has been working on Nokia, who have had front-facing camera technology for a year now - but currently only has four applications to show for it.
We’ll certainly be seeing more and more advanced features as developers think up new ways of using this technology. We’ll keep you posted on any updates that emerge on this topic.
10 June, 2010, 11:19 am
Blast Applications is a company that develops applications related to Twitter and Facebook that allow productivity and for individuals and groups to get the most out of using mobile social networking. This company has decided to start making their mobile applications available on the Android Market, claiming that since 1 out of every 10 smart phones being carried today is an Android phone, with the market share quickly growing, many users will benefit from the use of Blast’s apps, as well as the company benefiting from the increased traffic on their apps.
Blast Applications’ apps are designed ‘with the simple purpose of making your web experiences better.’ If you’re interested in learning more about the company and the applications that they develop and offer, check out their website here. We’ll keep you updated on this and all other cell phone news here at CellPhoneTrek.com.
10 June, 2010, 8:25 am
There has finally been a fix to the ‘disappearing app’ glitch happening in the Android Market. Over the past week, some of the developers who were submitting updates noticed quite a problem, their apps had disappeared.
As if this wasn’t a problem enough by itself - the developers whose apps had vanished from the Market were having no luck in getting a reply from Google when they promptly reported the problem. Five (5) days after the initial report was posted in the Official Android Forum did Google finally post in response to the problem.
Wednesday, June 9th - roughly a week after the problem began - Google said that it was able to fix the problem. The lost applications are now restored, and everything is back to working order in the Google Market. In response to the delay in responding to the problem, Google said, “Regrettably, we fell short of our own standard for customer support by not communicating the issue to our developers and how we were working to resolve it.”
9 June, 2010, 3:08 pm
On June 23rd, 3 feature-phones will be released together from Samsung, one of which we have received and confirmed to be the Samsung Gravity 3. The Gravity 3 will be a step-up from the previous model, the Gravity 2, which was also made by Samsung.
The Samsung Gravity 3 will feature a Full-QWERTY keyboard that slides out from the side, a Directional-Pad, a 2-Megapixel Camera, as well as Samsung’s ‘Social Buzz’ Java Application which allows users to follow their Social Networks effortlessly on their mobile device. The Samsung Gravity 3 will also feature a color-display and music player. Look for the Gravity 3 to be released along with 2 other feature-phones made by Samsung as well on the T-Mobile network on June 23rd.
9 June, 2010, 10:47 am
The Samsung Gravity T, or Samsung T669, is just One of Three feature-phones to be released on the T-Mobile Network on June 23rd. The Gravity T is one of the more impressive of the 3, although all of the features are basically alike for all three devices. The Samsung Gravity T is geared toward messaging and social networking.
The Gravity T features a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard as well as a full touchscreen. T-Mobile advertises that users will be able to experience the ‘full freedom of the web’ with the full-HTML browser included in the software, as well as 3G capability and picture messaging. The Gravity T is aimed for ages 18-26, whose main form of communication has proven to be Text Messaging.
9 June, 2010, 8:49 am
Give a warm welcome to the Samsung 
- Yes, the Samsung ‘Smile’, or Samsung T359, which is being released on June 23rd - that gives you fourteen-days to prepare yourself for the . This device by Samsung will be launching on the T-Mobile Network.
The Samsung will feature a 1.3-Megapixel Camera, a Full-HTML Browser, and active sync exchange mail support. The will also feature a slide-down full-QWERTY keyboard for users to be able to easily text-message and browse the web with. Other features include multimedia messaging, video capture, and e-mail. Look for the ‘Smile’ to be released on June 23rd on the T-Mobile network by Samsung.
8 June, 2010, 2:20 pm
If you missed the announcement, you may be wondering when you can upgrade your current iPhone to the new Apple iPhone 4. AT&T has announced that anyone within 6 months of being eligible for an upgrade to a new phone on their current contract this year is eligible to upgrade to the iPhone 4 six months early. Yesterday Steve Jobs announced the release of the Apple iPhone 4 for this month, due on this month, June 24th.
You can check your upgrade eligibility at the AT&T Site. We’ll bring you any updates that we receive for the iPhone 4, as well as any other cell phone news here at CellPhoneTrek.com.
7 June, 2010, 1:45 pm
Highly anticipated - Steve Jobs is the Keynote Speaker of WWDC 2010, of course, and he is announcing some very exciting stuff. So far they’ve spoken about the popularity of the iPad, e-books, and the usefulness of the development world and Apple when teamed up - this equals about 15,000 applications admitted to Apple every week.
It also looks like apple is onboard with Zynga - makers of Farmville, Netflix - the largest streaming movie rental program on the block, and Activision - talking about the new version of Guitar Hero which is programmed to specifically work on the iPhone. Some exciting announcements.
Jobs is now speaking about the new iPhone 4 being released. It is a completely new design, 24% thinner than the iPhone 3GS, making it the thinnest smartphone on the planet. The Design integrates a built-in extended antenna for 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS connections, and the Apple iPhone 4 also features improved battery life, with up to 300 hours of standby.
The iPhone 4 will also have an added feature - a gyroscope, meaning it has a 6-axis detection system of angular velocity, when combined with the compass and accelerometer, making it perfect for gaming. A whole new camera system will be integrated in the new device. The camera will now be a 5-megapixel camera with a backside illuminated sensor, with 5x digital zoom, tap to focus, and an LED flash.
The camera also records HD video. It is capable of recording 720p video at 30fps. Also announced: iMovie for iPhone. You’re able to cut, edit, record, and add video together to make movies on your new iPhone 4. It includes transitions, titles, and even the automatic recording of geolocations to integrate them into certain themes that users may choose. How much will it cost? $4.99.
iPhone OS 4 is now being renamed to iOS 4. Multitasking is now implemented, hooray - and supposedly Apple did it ‘correctly’ as to not kill battery life. iOS 4 will also feature optional folders on the homescreen - and ‘other features’ which Jobs doesn’t have time to go through. Data protection, device management, multiple exchange accounts - as well as added Google, Yahoo, and Bing search engines.
The new iPhone 4 will also be adding iBooks. A digital bookshelf - the same as your iPad, and you will be able to download the same book that you’ve already purchased on one device to all of your other devices. The PDF viewer is extremely full-featured as well.
Finally, VIDEO CHAT - ‘facetime’! Jobs made a video chat option directly on the in-call menu of the call screen. He made a phonecall during the keynote speech, pressed the facetime button, and, bam, he was talking face to face with his buddy. This is the deature that I’ve been waiting for, and Job’s has announced it. Unfortunately, we won’t see this being used outside of a Wi-Fi connection until at least 2011.
All of these features pretty much sum up what the Apple iPhone 4 will be. Looks like an exciting device, we personally can’t wait to get our hands on it. Thankyou, Steve Jobs, for enlightening us on what is to come. We’ll keep bringing you guys updates on WWDC and all Apple iPhone news here at CellPhoneTrek.com.
7 June, 2010, 10:57 am
Here’s a little Teaser for all of you fans out there patiently, or impatiently, awaiting the arrival of the Samsung Galaxy S. Here at CellPhoneTrek, we just received a Promotional “Flier Mini Palm Bass” speaker that has both USB and 3.5mm plugs and acts as a portable speaker. We must admit, at first we had no idea what this thing did, it is shaped like a little White UFO with ‘Samsung Galaxy S’ branded on a top hatch that flips open with the push of a lever to reveal the little speaker, and it lights up when you turn it on, but after looking at the instructions for a minute, we realized that it wasn’t going to levitate and shoots lasers into our eyes.
Here we have a picture of the device in the open box as it came, teasing us with the “Samsung Galaxy S Landing Soon” print that you can clearly see. All we can do is sit tight and wait, but we have heard rumors about the Galaxy S being released on various different carriers such as T-Mobile or AT&T - exactly what is the truth, we can only wait and see.
By the way, this portable speaker has some decent quality, so thank you Samsung for sending me something I can play mp3’s on - now where is my Galaxy S to go with it?
7 June, 2010, 8:30 am
Sprint is claiming to have sold a record amount of HTC Evo 4G’s on the first day of availability - which was Friday, June 4th. Thus far, the carrier has not given out any specific figures of the amount sold, but they did comment that there were temporary shortages of the device at some US stores.
Sprint claimed that Friday marked the largest quantity of a single phone that the company has sold in one day. Although numbers at this point are not clear, they stated that the Evo 4G beat the previous records held by the Samsung Instinct and the Palm Pre combined over their first three days of availability - times three.
The HTC Evo 4G is available on the Sprint network. It is sold in over 22,000 locations across the United States, including stores such as Best Buy, Radio Shack, and Walmart. Sprint claimed to have been experiencing shortages in these locations, and it is working with HTC to fix the problem.
4 June, 2010, 3:45 pm
Today is an exciting day at Cell Phone Trek. Not only did we acquire the HTC EVO 4G, but we also got the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G Slide and the Samsung Rugby II for AT&T.
We’ve already told you a bit about the HTC EVO 4G, and we’ll have a full video and written review coming up soon for that device. Soon enough we’ll have the unboxing and review video of the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G Slide posted up by Tommy Rebik, as well as a written review soon to follow.
And Thanks to our friends over at AT&T, we were able to get our hands on the Samsung Rugby II, and we’ll be bringing you coverage on that device soon enough as well. So all in all, there is going to be a lot of new content as well as a continuing flow of accessory videos to read and watch here at CellPhoneTrek.com, where you can rely on to find all of the latest Cellphone News.
4 June, 2010, 3:03 pm
So We’ve been playing around with the new HTC EVO 4G for the day, and so far I am impressed with what I have played with.
Qik is a social-network kind of video sharing and live chatting network that you can use the front-facing camera of the Evo to chat with people on their computers, tablets, or Evo’s. This is a pretty cool feature, although I wish the video chat feature wasn’t so limited to only being able to use it with Qik, so there’s a small downside.
flicking on a random song that was featured on one of the 7 homescreens, I found out that the external speakers of the phone are very impressive, and although you’re not going to be rocking the house with your new Evo 4G, it’s nice to know that you don’t absolutely need a headset in order to listen to decent sounding music.
Lastly, what we’ve come to expect, watching YouTube and other videos available in the HQ versions they’re offered in. But I must say - this phone is ahead of it’s time. Most locations do not receive the 4G connection (At least greater Orlando, FL), and we can’t quite enjoy a streaming HQ video without the device having to take a break every 15 seconds for buffering.
All in all, the EVO 4G is cool so far, but you can bet that we’ll bring you an in-depth, in-your-face review pretty soon here on CellPhoneTrek.com.
4 June, 2010, 10:55 am
It sounds strange, but then again, some of the strangest notions turn out to be true. It seems that the increased use of cellular devices could be the reason why many countries are seeing a decline in the honeybee population. Indian researches decided to perform a controlled experiment.
The scientists placed a few cell phones (GSM 900MHz) around one hive, a few fake cell phones around another, and did nothing different with a third hive. The exposure from the working phones was given for 15 minutes twice daily during peak bee activity. The results were conclusive. The hive which was located near the working cell phones showed a significant drop in population and the queen of the colony produced far less eggs than the other two hives.
4 June, 2010, 8:43 am
Today marks the release of the much anticipated HTC EVO 4G, and you can bet that CellPhoneTrek was up early in the AM so we could be one of the first to take a peek at this device. It looks just as beautiful as it did back at CTIA 2010 when I interviewed an HTC rep and he showed us this phone. No doubt - we’re going to have an unboxing up ASAP by Tommy and after a few days expect a review (We need time to learn what this phone is all about!)
But definitely expect great things from the HTC EVO 4G, the first wireless mobile device released by Sprint with 4G capabilities.
2 June, 2010, 9:17 am
If you’ve been thinkinking lately on getting an iPhone, then you may be changing your mind sometime very soon. It seems that the Android devices just keep rolling and rolling out, and now is no exception to that pattern. For those of you who don’t know much about the OS, Android is a powerful program that acts as an Operating System on popular smartphones such as the Nexus one and Motorola Droid.
Well the Army of Android (I keyed that term myself!) is now receiving 2 new devices. The first being the much anticipated EVO 4G, a device which i had the chance to get my hands on during CTIA 2010, and I can tell you firsthand that this is one powerhouse of a smartphone. The second being the equally exciting HTC MyTouch Slide, which although is, without a doubt, an awesome device - isn’t quite as impressive as the latter.
The HTC EVO 4G will be released on the Sprint Network for $199.99 assuming you sign up for a 2-year contract, and the HTC myTouch Slide is posted-up to be on the T-Mobile Network, and will run you $179.99 with the same assumption, being the 2-year contract.
31 May, 2010, 12:45 pm
Acer has announced the latest additions to it’s lineup of mobile device in the ‘Liquid Lineup’ - all of which are Android Devices. The new device being dubbed the Acer Liquid Stream. The Stream will be rocking a 5-Megapixel camera which records 720p HD video, and it includes in HDMI port which can be used to stream video on your HDTV.
The Acer Liquid Stream also features a 3.7-inch WVGA active-matrix OLED touchscreen display featuring a 2000:1 contrast ratio, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, a 1 GHz Snapdragon Processor, a microSD card slot, 2 GB of onboard storage, as well as Acer’s Customized UI.
Acer is making the claim that the Stream will be the perfect entertainment mobile device. Of course, these sorts of statements are always best left for the consumers to judge their validity.
28 May, 2010, 12:41 pm
Attention to owners of the Samsung Behold II. You will soon be receiving an Android update to a later version of the OS. This is great news for you guys. The unfortunate part is that the update is only to Android 1.6 Donut. This is a real bummer, I know, and I sympathize with you - as my personal device is the Motorola CLIQ.
So from my point of view - those of you who are even getting updates should be happy - I am still stuck with 1.5, and it’s been 7 months since my device has hit the market. Samsung told everyone late Thursday evening, via Twitter, about the update:
Samsung Mobile and T-Mobile USA are planning to update the Behold II to Android 1.6 which provides access to Google Maps Navigation, Google Voice Search capability and quick search box for Android.
The update will also supply additional benefits including Swype, an improved Media Player, updated core Android applications, and improved Bluetooth capabilities. However, the Behold II is not upgradeable beyond Android 1.6.
So Samsung Behold II owners - you have the right to be upset, especially considering that fact that you thought you were going to receive an update to Android 2.x. I suppose that all we can do is all that we have ever been able to do - either hone your hacking skills and update to Eclair on your own deviant will, or try and occupy yourself to forget the fact that you are waiting for something like an Android update. [cnet]
27 May, 2010, 9:28 am
The days of being able to own an anonymous prepaid cell phone are numbered, and congress is cracking down and fighting to make it necessary to show identification when activating a prepaid mobile device. Why, you may ask? This all comes abruptly after the revalations have arisen of the suspect of the Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad having used one of the untraceable devices.
A bill was proposed on Wednesday by Senator Chuck Schumer, a democrat of New York, which proposes that buys of prepaid cellular phones would have to show ID and sellers would have to keep the information so that law enforcement would be able to trace the phones.
Schumer goes on to say, “This proposal is overdue because for years, terrorists, drug kingpins and gang members have stayed one step ahead of the law by using prepaid phones.”
If the bill passes, there is a possibility that it could have a major impact on the prepaid cellular phone indutry, which is worth about $16 billion in 2010. It is noteworthy to mention that similar legislation which was aimed at prepaid phone cards several years previous never passed.
26 May, 2010, 1:18 pm
The HTC EVO 4G, which is being advertised as ‘Americas First 4G Android Phone,’ will be getting an HDMI Dock. This dock will provide the user with a simple way to hook up your EVO 4G and be able to watch high definition video in the same manner as you would hook up an iPod to play music. The dock will be on-sale soon at Best Buy.
The unfortunate side of this story - the people from PCMag who tested the HTC EVO 4G weren’t very pleased with the HDMI experience on the EVO when they had tested it through an HDMI cable hooked up to a Viewsonic TV. They claimed that the TV only saw the 480p signal instead of the EVO 4G’s 720p output. They also claimed that an H.264 clip played on a Samsung TV displayed horrible artifacting an scenes with a good deal of movement.
Even still, if you plan on watching video from your EVO 4G on your Television at home, you might as well use the dock for the convenience it offers. The price has yet to be confirmed, but the cable alone will cost $17.00, so the dock isn’t expected to be too cheap.
26 May, 2010, 1:01 pm
After the 11th suicide-attempting jump which took place May 24th at the iPhone manufacturing plant, Foxconn, a defacement of the company’s website occured. Nine of the workers at the plant located in Shenzen have killed themselves this year alone, with an additional 2 unsuccesssful suicides. In response to these numbers, the human resources website of Foxconn was hacked and a spoof “We’re Hiring” message was written in Chinese. Translated into english, the message reads:
Foxconn — We’re Hiring
Are you feeling down today? Do you feel like not living anymore? Do you want to know what it feels like to jump down from China’s model suicide jumping facility? Foxconn provides you the perfect environment to jump.
All the many reasons to jump here have ensured at least one jump per week.
Comprehensive press coverage guaranteed. to ensure your name travels ten thousand miles.
What are you waiting for? Pick up your phone now and join Foxconn.
Be the kickass twelfth jumper.
You can do it.
Hiring hotline: 514514514
Apparently the number ‘514′ when read sounds like the Chinese phrase for ‘I want to die.’ These suicide rates at the production plant are alarming to say the least. Investigations are ongoing. We’ll keep you posted on any updates.
26 May, 2010, 12:19 pm
The President and CEO of T-Mobile USA, Robert Dotson, has informed the company that he will be leaving his position after 15 years of service. In order for a smooth transition in leadership, Dotson has agreed to stay in his position until May 2011, at which time his designated replacement, Philipp Humm will officially take the seat in his position. Dotson will remain a non-executive board member until May 2011, after which he will be resigning from the position and will be transitioning into new opportunities.
Robert Dotson was quoted saying, “For 15 years it has been a privilege to lead the talented T-Mobile USA team in its journey to become a leading U.S. wireless provider. The time is right to ensure a thoughtful leadership transition to position T-Mobile USA for the next 15 years of opportunity,” he continuedd to say that, “It has long been my intent to step away from the business at this stage in my life in order to devote more time to family and to take on entirely new and unique challenges. That change can only be made possible if a suitable successor is in place. Over the next year, it will be my relentless focus and responsibility to work closely with Philipp to ensure marketplace success, and to enable a seamless leadership transition.”
René Obermann and other high-ranking executives in the company said that they regret having to see him leave, but are all confident that the new official will continue to make the right decisions and continue to see the company succeed.
26 May, 2010, 8:59 am
The Upcoming Android 2.2 Froyo OS will be featuring support for Flash Player. The social Flash gaming site Kongregate has recently announced a partnership with Adobe which will allow the site to port it’s entire library of flash games over to Flash Player 10.1 - meaning they will be playable on the new build of Android.
As a part of the agreement, Kongregate has just launched a mobile site which features over 100 of it’s games that are optimized to be played on mobile handsets and are fully integrated into Kongregate’s social network features. The totality of Kongragates library consists of over 30,000 games created by 8000 developers - not all being Flash created, but the majority are. The 100 games ported over for Android 2.2 took about 10 days, meaning it shouldn’t take very long for the majority of the collection to be ported as well.
25 May, 2010, 8:35 am
The Dell Streak is now the talk of the town this Summer. Today Dell announced launch plans due for the Android-Based Dell Streak handheld tablet, and also confirmed that the device will be getting the Android 2.2 update later this year - meaning that this tablet will be Flash-capable. The Streak was first introduced by Dell at CES this year ijn January, and since then, through a combination of statements and periodic leaks to engadget, specifications for the device have been made public.
What we know is that the Dell Streak will feature a 5-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen, a Qualcomm 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 2GB internal storage, 32GB expandable storage via SDCard, a 5-Megapixel camera with LED flash and a front-facing camera for video chat, 3G, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity.
At launch, the Dell Streak will be shipped with Android Donut 1.6, but is expected to receive an update to Android 2.2 OTA. At this time, there is no mention of pricing or US carrier details.
25 May, 2010, 8:20 am
Well, Android Froyo 2.2 has now arrived, and it’s turning heads everywhere and bringing more and more people to become loyal to Google. Many people want to know what is in store next for Google? Gizmodo recently interviewed Andy Rubin, Google’s Vice President of Engineering, and in a few highlights, this is what he had to say:
-What goes into each version of Android is “pretty random”, and the team does not plan more than one release out.
-There isn’t very much that Google can do about custom UI’s lagging behind with updates
-They are working at improving the keyboard
-HTC is pretty much on their own with Apple’s patent lawsuit
-The next 6 months of Android will “blow your mind”
Sounds exciting, I know that I am looking forward to seeing what Google has in store for us. We’ll keep you posted on any new developments.
24 May, 2010, 3:07 pm
The Motorola Droid has undoubtedly been one of the biggest success stories for Motorola in 2010. With the company coming close to completely shutting down their mobile phone production line, the Droid was able to help the company make somewhat of a comeback. This was all thanks to the Android OS, high-performance hardware and good advertisement on Motorola’s part. But, like all other things in the tech world, the Motorola Droid is becoming dated, as the device has been out on the market for over 6 months now. Which is why talk of the next Droid is all over the web these days.
There has been another leak of an Image which could prove itself to be the design of the new-age Motorola Droid. This time, the image we see is on the face of a Verizon Wireless ‘Getting Started’ Manual featuring the Droid logo on the bottom left corner of the cover. From what we know so far, this device is said to feature:
* 4.1-inch TFT full-WVGA touchscreen display
* Android 2.1 (upgradeable to Android 2.2)
* 8MP camera with HD (720p) video recording
* 1080p output via HDMI port
* TI OMAP 3630 processor (probably at 720 MHz)
* 2GB of built-in memory
So if this leak is authentic, I would say that it would not be an overshot to expect this to be out by July of this year. Specification-wise, in my opinion, anything short of a 1GHz processor shouldn’t even bother being released if it plans on competing with the best devices on the market, but then again, these are still speculations. We’ll keep you updated on any releases or changes as they develop.
24 May, 2010, 1:55 pm
You may know the company Pandigital for their work in manufacturing digital photo frames that you see in all of the stores today. Now Pandigital has announced today that it will be releasing the Pandigital Novel: an Android-powered e-book reader. The device will feature a 7-inch touchscreen display with 800 x 600 resolution, an ARM 11 Processor, Wi-Fi, 1GB of internal memory, as well as a slot for SD/MMC cards. Battery life is said to be around 6 hours of use, or about one flight across the US. Although the Novel lacks 3G and a camera, Pandigital reports that in the works is a model which can access AT&T’s Edge network (The network that reaches 97% of US Geography).
For now, the pricetag on the Pandigital Novel will be $199. Compare this to the $259 Amazon Kindle or the $499 base price of the iPad, and you can clearly see how the price is fairly reasonable. On top of the Android OS, you will have access to download millions of books from Barnes and Noble’s e-bookstore, as well as watch videos and view photos. The Novel supports PDF, ePUB, and HTML. Pandigital is saying that there will be a 2GB model of the Novel coming out in June. We’ll keep you up to date on this and other Cell Phone News.
24 May, 2010, 9:16 am
Apple posted an announcement today that Steve Jobs will be delivering the keynote on Monday, June 7th at 10 AM PST, in order to kick off Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference which will run from June 7th to June 11th at Moscone West in San Fransisco, California. Included in the conference will be the first-ever iPad development sessions, hands-on working labs for iPhone OS 4, and Mac OS X Technology Labs.
Apple said that the event will be focusing on providing advanced content to skilled developers in 5 different tech-tracks: Application Frameworks, Internet & Web, Graphics & Media, Developer Tools, and Core OS. Over 100 solutions-oriented technical labs and sessions will be delivered by Apple’s engineers, with a primary focus on iPhone OS 4.
Just 8 days after announcement, WWDC solds out, as Moscone West center can only accomodate 5,000 guests. The ticket prices for this year increased from $1,259 to $1,599. Will Apple be unveiling the new Apple iPhone 4G this year? We can only wait to find out.
24 May, 2010, 8:56 am
Still, nothing is official in dealings with Apple giving the iPhone to Verizon, but no one has come out and said that the deal is off, so we can still speculate what will happen if and when Verizon is to acquire the iPhone. The Morgan Stanley Analyst Katy Hugerty theorizes that somewhere around 17% of Verizon Wireless customers would be upgrading to an iPhone if given the opportunity. Out of Verizon’s 70.8-million customers, that would be over 12-million people upgrading to the iPhone - Apple, what are you waiting for?!
Hugerty goes on to write, “According to our [Alphawise U.S. consumer iPhone survey], there is substantial pent up iPhone demand within the Verizon installed base as 16.8 percent of Verizon subscribers said they are “very likely” to purchase an iPhone if offered on the Verizon Network, This 16.8 percent is higher than AT&T subscriber’s 14.6 percent extreme interest in the current AT&T iPhone and well above the overall iPhone extreme interest of 7.5 percent.”
With the competition that Google has brough to the table with the Android Operating System, these numbers are, without a doubt, looking better and better to Apple’s eyes everyday. It would only make sense to offer the product on Verizon’s network - but who knows what this could mean for AT&T.
24 May, 2010, 8:28 am
Google has just released their source code for My Tracks, an Android GPS program which allows users to record where they have been, to log journeys in Google Docs, and even post trip maps online. Google is expecting that My Tracks will greatly and rapidly improve with the contributions of various developers.
The software is governed under the open source license by Google’s preference, Apache License 2.0. MyTracks allows people to track their location on a map, and includes details such as speed, average speed, elevation gain, and distance traveled. With open-source support, developers will be able to add their own modifications to My Tracks and possibly sell their ’spin-offs’ to eager consumers.
When software such as My Tracks is open-source, anyone may see or modify the program’s underlying source-code. Google has favored using these kinds of open-source licenses - such as we see with the use of Linux, MySQL Database, and the WebKit browser engine - just to name a few.
22 May, 2010, 8:41 am
I’m so happy about some of the products that I’ve found, I just have to write an article about it. I’ve been searching forever to find a good Mens Skin Care site, and I finally found one - TheMetroMan.com. I bought some Billy Jealousy products from their site, and the total came out WAY cheaper than I ever expected.
Sure, this isn’t exactly what you would expect from this site in an article, but like I said before, I’ve been looking for a good mens skin care site for quite some time now, and I finally found one. So guys, if you need some high-quality facial products, go check out TheMetroMan.com.
I’m so happy about some of the products that I’ve found, I just have to write an article about it. I’ve been searching forever to find a good Mens Skin Care site, and I finally found one - TheMetroMan.com. I bought some Billy Jealousy products from their site, and the total came out WAY cheaper than I ever expected.
Sure, this isn’t exactly what you would expect from this site in an article, but like I said before, I’ve been looking for a good mens skin care site for quite some time now, and I finally found one. So guys, if you need some high-quality facial products, go check out TheMetroMan.com.
21 May, 2010, 2:54 pm
Droid-Life has reported that there are 2 new CDMA smartphones making their way to the surface of the Verizon Network - the Droid 2 and Shadow - both made by Motorola. The Motorola Droid 2 (A955) is likely to be released sometime before the holiday season 2010, so we’ve got about a half-year before we will likely be seing it on the shelves.
Then we have the Motorola Shadow - a comeback that guarantees to be somewhat of an iPhone attacker. Leaked specs on the Shadow appear to be stable and true:
4.1-inch touchscreen w/ FWVGA 854 x 480 pixel resolution
Android 2.1 with MotoBLUR
720 MHz TI OMAP 3630 Processor with PowerVR SGX530 GPU
8-Megapixel camera with Dual-LED flash and 720p video recording
HDMI Port
512 MB RAM
Although subject to change, word has it that at this time we may be able to expect a June 2010 release on the Motorola Shadow. We’ll, as always, bring you any updates on this information when we receive it.
21 May, 2010, 1:48 pm
Google has announced that they will be spreading the use of their new video format, WebM. The WebM video format will be supported by Google, Mozilla, and Opera. So it may come as no surprise to those of you who follow cell phone news that Steve Jobs is bashing the idea.
Youtube, owned by Google, did a great deal in making the H.264 video format popular. In case you didn’t know, this is Apple’s web video format - and it wouldn’t be anywhere on the internet if YouTube hadn’t utilized it. In fact, I would bet my money on Apple actually utilizing Flash due to customer demand had Google not used the H.264 video format with YouTube, but Jobs’ attitude is a bit too arrogant and misplaced considering that Google owns the most popular video sharing website in the world.
If all that this boils down to is that Apple will not support another popular video format on their devices, then I guess its just business as usual. The only thing that I would like to know is - How long will apple fans put up with this nonsense ‘I’m not going to use your formats because mine are better and you are the competition.’? It is safe to say that Apple will not support WebM, as Jobs is bashing it before it has even been released. Way to have an open mind about new technology Apple-Man.
21 May, 2010, 10:07 am
If you’ve been interested in picking up any of the newer smartphones such as the HTC Droid Incredible, your intentions may have failed when you arrived at a store only to find out about major shortages of such devices. This is a growing problem - as there are shortages of the touchscreens which play such a vital role to the smartphone industry today. With the growth of smartphones projected upwards of 50% this year, it seems as if demand can only get larger on a commodity which is already in shortage.
To help solve the problem, Samsung, producer of electronic devices including a line of popular smartphones in the US, has stated that they will be investing $2.15-billion in order to build the world’s largest production line of AMOLED touchscreen displays - the type which current smartphones are using more and more of. Hopefully this investment will stop or at least deter any sort of supply shortage from being a problem.
21 May, 2010, 9:54 am
Google will be taking on Apple with it’s acquisition of the music streaming service ‘Simplify Media’, and it’s music store on the Android market. This will be in direct competition with Apple iTunes, and it will be interesting to see how this will play out, both in the early and longterm stages. Although Apple has the advantage of being on the market for so long, many people do not like how Apple iTunes is a rather controlling and limiting program, often necessary to perform basic tasks via Mac or PC with certain products. Hopefully Google, in the same way that they have made their OS platforms open, will do the same with their music program.
Because of Google being able to integrate it’s Music Store directly into the Android Market, it is unlikely that there will be much necessary advertisements as we had seen with Apple in the past. This frees up Google to focus more money and effort on more important projects such as this one and Google TV.
21 May, 2010, 8:57 am
It appears that while collecting street-view photographs for their Maps application, Google may have inadvertently collected some private data off of a wireless network in Germany. Nothing is for sure as of yet, but Germany has placed an investigation probe upon Google - and follow-ups will occur in order to figure out what exactly has happened. Some of the private data that may have been collected could include information such as passwords and e-mails.
Nothing has been confirmed yet in this story, but this comes as a surprise that this could happen with Google - the tech giant who recently released Android 2.2 Froyo and plans to unveil Google TV. We’ll keep you updated on any developing infomation in the story,
20 May, 2010, 3:49 pm
It looks as if Android 2.2 Froyo will be the kind of Android that many people have been awaiting for quite some time now. Today marks the release of the Operating System, and all we’ve heard are great things coming from the blogs and websites of those who are attending google’s I/O Conference, the location from where the release has taken place. we’ve been following many blogs today to see if we can figure out some key-points and features of the new build, and here is what we have so far:
* Improved security with the addition of numeric pin or alpha-numeric password options to unlock device. Exchange administrators can enforce password policy across devices.
* Remote wipe: Exchange administrators can remotely reset the device to factory defaults to secure data in case device is lost or stolen.
* Exchange Calendars are now supported in the Calendar application.
* Auto-discovery: you just need to know your user-name and password to easily set up and sync an Exchange account (available for Exchange 2007 and higher).
* Global Address Lists look-up is now available in the Email application, enabling users to auto-complete recipient names from the directory.
* Portable WiFi hotspot: Certain devices like the Nexus One can be turned into a portable Wi-Fi hotspot that can be shared with up to 8 devices.
With this information, Android is shaping up to begin looking like an OS that the majority of phone manufacturers will be adopting on their architecture in some sort or another. It looks like cross-platform compatibility and power with simplicity will be Android’s forte, but we will have to wait until distribution to see what this ‘powerhouse’ is truly capable of. We’ll keep you updated on this and all other cell phone news.
20 May, 2010, 1:58 pm
T-Mobile certainly seems to be strong in the Android Race, and it doesn’t look like they will be slowing down anytime soon. The carrier has just announced that they will be releasing their newest addition to the family of Android-based phones, the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G Slide, on June 2nd. The device will run you around $179.99 with a two-year contract and $50 mail-in rebate. Although the device doesn’t differ too much from the original T-Mobile MyTouch, there is certainly some variation to design.
The MyTouch 3G Slide will be featuring a slide-out Full QWERTY keyboard, hence the name ‘Slide’. The device will also sport a 3.4-inch HVGA Capacitive touchscreen display, a 5-Megapixel Camera, and the full spectrum of wireless options as we would normally expect from any modern Android-based phone. The MyTouch 3G Slide will feature a Custom UI from T-Mobile which is supposed to make using the phone much easier for any user.
Samsung Gravity 3 Review
June 9th, 2010
Samsung Gravity T Review
June 9th, 2010
Samsung :) T359 Review
June 9th, 2010
HTC Evo 4G Review
June 7th, 2010
HTC Droid Incredible Review
April 29th, 2010
T-Mobile Tap
March 18th, 2010
HTC HD2 Review
March 11th, 2010
Samsung Freeform / Link R350 / R351
December 1st, 2009
Kyocera Laylo M1400
December 1st, 2009
Samsung Omnia II
December 1st, 2009
LG Shine II
November 22nd, 2009
Pantech Impact
November 20th, 2009
BlackBerry Curve 8530
November 17th, 2009
Nokia N900
November 15th, 2009
Samsung Behold II
November 15th, 2009
Sanyo Incognito SCP-6760
November 15th, 2009
Nokia 2330 Classic
November 10th, 2009
Motorola Droid
November 3rd, 2009
Motorola Rival
June 7th, 2009
Samsung Ultra Touch S8300
March 18th, 2009
Nokia 2720
January 7th, 2009
Samsung Rant M540
December 23rd, 2008
HTC G1
October 16th, 2008
HTC Touch Viva
October 15th, 2008
HTC Tilt
October 3rd, 2008
HTC Touch HD
September 15th, 2008
HTC Touch 3G
September 15th, 2008
HTC Touch Diamond
September 3rd, 2008
HTC Shadow
December 17th, 2007
T-Mobile Wing
May 23rd, 2007
HTC Dash
October 16th, 2006
